Ugandan soldiers assault journalists at Bobi Wine event, face opaque military trial

On February 17, a group of Ugandan military police officers used sticks and batons to beat at least 10 journalists covering opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, known popularly as Bobi Wine, while he delivered a petition to a United Nations office in Kololo, a neighborhood of the capital Kampala, according to nine of those journalists, who spoke to CPJ, media reports, and statements by local press rights groups. The following day, the head of Uganda’s military, General David Muhoozi, gave a press conference in which he apologized for the attacks and promised to pay the journalists’ medical bills. Also that…Read more

Bangladeshi journalist Borhan Uddin Muzakkir dies of gunshot wounds

Bangladeshi authorities must swiftly identify the killers of journalist Borhan Uddin Muzakkir and hold them to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 19, in the Companiganj area of Bangladesh’s southern Noakhali district, police and armed demonstrators opened fire during clashes in the street between two factions of the ruling Awami League party, each of which is seeking power in the Companiganj area, according to the Daily Star. At least nine people were shot at the demonstration, according to that report. A bullet from an unidentified shooter hit Muzakkir, a reporter…Read more

Commonwealth Day 2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Commonwealth Day 2021 will be celebrated on Monday 8 March 2021, with a schedule of virtual events about which more information will soon be made available below. Each year, there is usually a service held at Westminster Abbey to mark Commonwealth Day. However, due to the pandemic, no service will be held this year. Instead Her Majesty The Queen will deliver her annual message in ‘A Celebration for Commonwealth Day’, which will be broadcast on Sunday 7 March on BBC ONE in the UK. HRH The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of…Read more

Safety of journalists remains active concern in Northern Ireland as BBC Panorama team is threatened

A threat against a BBC Panorama documentary team is the latest incident evidencing a worrying climate for the safety of journalists in Northern Ireland, where journalists reporting on paramilitary groups and organised crime are among the most at-risk journalists in the UK. RSF calls again for immediate steps by the UK government to address this alarming trend and ensure the safety of journalists in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK. In early February, a member of the BBC Panorama documentary team investigating alleged criminal underworlds across sport, drug-running and arms-dealing throughout Europe faced…Read more

Indian finance authorities raid Newsclick office, homes of editors and managers

Indian authorities must immediately stop occupying the offices of the news website Newsclick and cease harassing its editors and managers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since yesterday morning, officers with the Indian Finance Ministry’s Enforcement Directorate have raided Newsclick’s New Delhi office, as well as the homes of its editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, one other editor, and two members of its management, according to a senior editor with the outlet, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, and various news reports. As of today, officers continue…Read more

Nigerian news website Peoples Gazette blocked, threatened with legal action

Nigerian authorities should ensure access to the Peoples Gazette new site is not disrupted and its reporters can work without fear of harassment or intimidation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 26, four mobile internet service providers operating in Nigeria – India-based Airtel, South Africa-based MTN, Nigeria-based 9mobile, and Glo, which is owned by local company Globacom – blocked the privately owned Peoples Gazette in Nigeria, according to the outlet’s managing editor, Samuel Ogundipe, who spoke to CPJ via phone.  As of February 5, access continued to be restricted on all four of the providers,…Read more

RSF demands police protection for Indian journalist receiving death threats

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Indian security services to make every effort to protect Neha Dixit, a Delhi-based freelance journalist who – after an attempted break-in at her home on the evening of 25 January – revealed that she has been subjected to an extremely targeted campaign of threats for months. Two days after the attempted break-in, which might otherwise have seemed relatively trivial, Neha Dixit revealed on Twitter that she has been getting threatening phone calls for the past five months from people who are clearly spying on her and know exactly…Read more

Nigerian investigative journalist forced to flee after massacre disclosures

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Nigerian authorities to guarantee the safety of investigative journalist Ibanga Isine, who fears for his life after the deaths of several sources linked to his reports on massacres in the north of the country.  During the night, his telephone lights up by itself. During the day, it is impossible to end some calls without switching the phone off. Isine, who has won several awards, no longer trusts the cell phones which he believes are compromised and bugged because of his investigations into massacres carried out in the south of…Read more

Malawian police beat journalist Henry Kijimwana Mhango for reporting on COVID-19

Malawian authorities should investigate the police attack on journalist Henry Kijimwana Mhango, and ensure that those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 22, a group of at least seven police officers in the Old Town area of Lilongwe, the capital, attacked Mhango, a freelance reporter who contributes to the U.K. daily The Telegraph, with pipes and sticks after he asked permission to photograph them enforcing COVID-19 regulations, according to a report by the Malawi Voice news website and Mhango, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview. “Authorities in Malawi…Read more

Ghanaian soldiers detain 3 Joy News employees, delete reporting footage

  • Posted on February 1, 2021
  • /Under Arrest
 Ghanaian authorities must investigate the recent detention of three Joy News staffers, and hold to account the soldiers who interfered with their reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 16, a group of about 30 military officers at the Apamprama forest reserve in Ghana’s southern Ashanti region detained reporter Erastus Asare Donkor, camera operator Kofi Asare, and driver Michael Sakyi while the three were on assignment for Joy News, a YouTube-based news outlet owned by the Multimedia Group conglomerate, according to Donkor, who spoke to CPJ by phone, and reports…Read more